Chapter IV
The First Movement
Hermione was extremely glad that Gryffindors shared with Ravenclaws. She was sure she wouldn't be able to survive the year without Luna and Par (short for Parvati). They went up to their dorms immediately after the handsome DADA professor finished his announcement. The dorms were large but cozy, 20 four-poster beds arranged in a circle around a stove to keep them warm on cold nights. The room was painted and furnished in various shades of blue, silver, red, and gold. The fire was already lit and their bags and trunks already sat at the foot of their beds. After making sure all of her belongings were present (they always were), Hermione wanted to go explore the common room some more.
"Hey, Par, I'm going to go up." Hermione said.
"Oh okay. See you in a bit Mione." Par replied cheerfully. Hermione rolled her eyes at the silly nickname her friends gave her. When she reached the common room, she wanted to find a book to read and settle down on the green couch, but in entering, she found that someone else had the same idea. Draco Malfoy seemed absorbed in his book and, she noticed, quite lonely. Hermione shook her head. Remember who he is, Hermione. He's the boy who tortured and bullied you for years! He's not some sad puppy for you to comfort! Her inner voice scolded her. So she grabbed a book about identifying magical rocks and minerals and their purposes. She sat down in one of the armchairs and tried to read. But she couldn't help glancing at Malfoy every now and then. He barely looked up when she sat down. She pretended to read about the magical purposes of rocks, but she was really focusing on Draco Malfoy. She could see that there were bags under his eyes, his hair was not as perfectly slicked down as usual, and his grey-blue eyes were not as piercing and sharp as they normally were. She virtually smacked herself. Stop it. He's probably fine. This is probably some sick guise to make everyone think he's weak and pitiful. Hermione thought. But then again...maybe not… Hermione shook her head to clear it and slammed her book shut, louder than she intended to. Draco looked up, his minor annoyance evident in his eyes.
"Could you keep it down, Granger? I'm trying to read." his voice had lost some of the sting that had made Hermione wince when he spoke all those years earlier.
"Sorry." she apologized quickly before hurrying to the bookcase and then upstairs to see what Par and Luna were doing. When she was at the top of the staircase, she looked back at the lonely and sad figure of Draco Malfoy. He wasn't the King of Slytherin that she remembered.
So what happened?
